Update 2020-11-09: FERC “accepted” our FOIA request a week later, and got around to telling us two more weeks later.

FERC can’t seem to tell Miami from Puerto Rico. So we’ve reminded them, and we’re waiting for a response to our second FOIA about NFE’s Miami LNG operation. Two weeks we’ve been waiting.

Miami, not Puerto Rico

Meanwhile, I went and voted for some people who, if elected, might help make the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) accountable. You can, too. As an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental charity, WWALS cannot tell you who to vote for. But we can ask you to go vote for people who will stop LNG and stop this sort of bureaucratic runaround.

Seeing FERC’s SHOW CAUSE order to New Fortress Energy (NFE) about NFE’s Puerto Rico Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) operations, we sent FERC a FOIA about any SHOW CAUSE from FERC or PETITION FOR DECLARATORY ORDER from NFE about NFE’s Miami LNG facility, which has been operational for years now with no authorization from FERC and not even a FERC docket.

FERC answered the same day, pointing us to the Puerto Rico SHOW CAUSE. We can only guess they didn’t bother to read as far as the word “Miami” in the Re: header of our September 28, 2020, FOIA letter.

Date: Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 2:28 PM
Subject: FOLLOW UP – John Quarterman – PETITION FOR DECLARATORY ORDER – SHOW CAUSE ORDER – filed by New Fortress Energy, Miami, Florida

John Quarterman

Please be advised that you are only required to submit a Freedom of Information Act request for privileged material. “Petition for Declaratory Orders” and/or “Show Cause Orders” are classified as public material. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Elibrary database includes an index of material filed at FERC or issued by FERC. Most public material in the FERC elibrary can be viewed on your computer. A review of this material has identified that a “Show Cause Order” was issued on June 18, 2020, in New Fortress Energy, Docket No. CP20-466. For your convenience we have attached a copy of this document. See direct link below to the FERC Elibrary that may include additional information that may be of interest to you. Generally, “Show Cause Orders” are issued in the abscence of a “Petition for Declaratory Order”.

ELIBRARY

https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search

We kindly ask that you withdraw your Freedom of Information Act regarding this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the FOIA-CEII Service Center at foia-ceii@ferc.gov/(202)502-8389.

Sincerely,

Toyia Johnson

Toyia Johnson
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Office of External Affairs
FOIA Public Liaison
Phone: (202) 502-8389 / Toll Free: 1-866-208-FERC
Email: foia-ceii@ferc.gov

• Click here to submit Freedom of Information Act request.
• Click here to submit a Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information request and Non Disclosure Agreement.

If you follow that first link before her signature, the one “to submit Freedom of Information Act request,” you get:

404
The content you are looking for is in the process of being migrated.
All documents are available in eLibrary during this process, for additional help please contact Mediadl@ferc.gov for guidance.
Try searching for your content

There’s a search box, but since FERC’s Toyia Johnson acknowledged that email works for submitting a FOIA, we’ll stick with that.

So we sent FERC an expanded FOIA, this time asking for any records of correspondence or meetings such as were noted in the Puerto Rico SHOW CAUSE. Here’s the PDF we sent FERC of this second FOIA letter, and you can see images of each page in this blog post.

Miami in a densely populated area

We spelled out “Miami” everywhere from the Subject line on down.

Date of First LNG Export from the Facility: February 5, 2016

That was two weeks ago. So far, not a peep out of FERC.

[no person shall export any natural gas … without first having secured an order of the Commission authorizing it to do so. –Natural Gas Act]

Many thanks to Cecile Scofield for writing most of the FOIA letter.

Yes, we are still collecting funds to sue FERC about shirking its LNG oversight duty.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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